U.S. allows transactions involving Lukoil, Rosneft under CPC, Tengiz, Karachaganak projectsThe U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued a license authorizing transactions involving sanctioned Russian oil companies Lukoil (MOEX: LKOH) and Rosneft (MOEX: ROSN) related to the operation of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) and the Tengiz and Karachaganak fields in Kazakhstan.The general license does not authorize any "transactions for the sale, disposition, or transfer of any interest" in these projects, OFAC said.Furthermore, this license authorizes all transactions involving provision of oilfield and oil transportation services (provided compliance with the price cap) related to these three projects that were prohibited by the previous U.S. administration on January 10, 2025. Previously, temporary exemptions were made from this prohibition for the CPC, Tengiz and Sakhalin-2 projects.The U.S. included Lukoil in its sanctions list on October 22 and issued a license to wind down business with the company by November 21. However, international projects in Kazakhstan involving Lukoil, such as CPC and TengizChevroil were exempted from the sanctions.The CPC pipeline connects oil fields in western Kazakhstan and Russian offshore fields in the Caspian Sea to a marine terminal in Novorossiysk. It is the main export route for Kazakh oil, accounting for more than 80% of Kazakhstan's pipeline crude exports. The pipeline system can now annually carry 72.5 million tonnes of crude from Kazakhstan and up to 83 million tonnes through Russia.The CPC's shareholders, besides Russia and Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft (MOEX: TRNF), are Kazakhstan with 20.75% (represented by KazMunayGas with 19% and Kazakhstan Pipeline Ventures LLC with 1.75%); Chevron Caspian Pipeline Consortium Company with 15%; Lukoil International GmbH with 12.5%; Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company with 7.5%; Rosneft-Shell Caspian Ventures Limited with 7.5%; BG Overseas Holding Limited with 2%; Eni International N.A. N.V. with 2%; and Oryx Caspian Pipeline LLC with 1.75%.TengizChevroil's shareholders are Chevron with 50%, ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Ventures Inc. with 25%, Kazakhstan, through KazMunayGas, with 20% and Lukoil with 5%. The Tengiz oil and gas field is one of the largest in Kazakhstan, with oil reserves of 3.1 billion tonnes.The Karachaganak field, one of the largest in the world, has oil and gas reserves of 1.2 billion tonnes and 1.35 trillion cubic meters, respectively. Karachaganak is being developed under a 40-year production sharing agreement signed in 1997 by the consortium KPO, which is 29.25% owned by Shell (SPB: RDS.A) through wholly owned affiliate BG Karachaganak Limited; 29.25% by Eni; 18% by Chevron Corp. (SPB: CVX); 13.5% by Lukoil ad 10% by KazMunayGas. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX